Glenrothes, Tullis Russell & Co, Rothes No.1 Papermachine House

The opening ceremony for the Rothes No.1 papermaking machine (R1) was 17th July 1969. Rothes Mill served the electrical industries from the 1920s. Rothes Mill had seen the introduction of No.4 machine (a remodelled and rebuilt machine started in 1927), the scrapping of No. 3 Machine and the installation of a re-modelled No.3 Machine, the Coronation Machine, in 1937.

After 1945 and until the end of Paper Control Order in 1950, no exports were allowed. The slow steady growth through the 1950s and early 1960s of the electrical paper business required greater papermaking capacity. A new machine was required, the final plans being drawn up on 7th January 1965. The new machine could not be near any of the original machines and so a new mill would need to be built. More pulp storage would be necessary as well as a new finishing plant. There was space to the south of the then existing mill which would not flood.

There were some buildings on the selected site that had to be relocated such as the physics and electrical labs (housed in old cottages) and the Band Hall. The relocated had been completed by July 1966. The main road was also diverted and alterations made to the storage pond supplying water to the condensers of the Power Station Turbines (built 1913, upgraded 1950s).

July 1966 saw the beginning of the steelwork erection for Pulp Store and Pulp Slushing building and was followed by the erection of the steelwork for the Machine House and the Finishing Department. The Pulp Shed was 367 feet in length and 46 feet in width. The main Machine House building was 397 feet in length, 76 feet in width and 55 feet in height. The height from the ground to the floor to the operating floor was 23 feet.

An 18 feet wide annexe to the main building housed the drive, a vapour absorption plant and the switchgear. The total floor area of the Pulp Shed, Machine Shed and other buildings was 170 000 square feet. It is noted that provision was made in the main building for the installation of a future paper machine.

Beaters and refiners are used to prepare the stock for the triple wire paper machine, the stock being cleaned by Bauer cleaners and Centriscreens.

The wet and piping and pulp systems were arranged so that stock with different characteristics could be prepared and run onto the wires as required.

The wires were 165 inches in width by 102 feet in length and were fitted with oscillating suction boxes, suction couch and forward drive rolls. The forward drive rolls were of the cantilever type for easy wire changing and were fitted with pressure type projection slices. The press part of the machine had three presses: the combining press, the reverse suction press and a plain press.

The Main Dryer section consisted of 28 dryers followed by an inter-Calender and Calender Stacks are of the Kuster swimming roll type. The steam system for the drying cylinders was specifically designed to give a wide range of control. The machine had a speed range of 125-1 000 f.p.m., the drive was of a Harland design with 19 sections.

From the pulp slushing onwards all sections of the plant had a centralised control. The finishing department had two super calenders, a three bowl giving a maximum nip pressure of 2,4500 lbs per inch and a ten bowl giving 4,000 lbs per inch. The top and bottom rolls of both of the calenders were of the Kuster swimming type.

A high speed winder and cutter equipped with scanning gear fir sheet inspection completed the finishing house equipment. The machine house ceiling was of the steel enameled plate type with tight dust joints and warmed on the top side to cut down condensation. Messrs. Blyth and Blyth, Civil Engineers, Edinburgh was responsible for the building and all the civil engineering work.

Other contractors involved in Rothes No. 1 Machine were, amongst others:

• Bertrams Ltd (beaters)

• James Bertrams and Sons Ltd (wire parts and presses)

• Colvilles Construction and Engineering Co. Ltd (steelwork)

• Bruce Peebles Ltd (high voltage electric motors

• Ferranti Ltd (power transformers)

• Harland Engineering Co. Ltd (main machine drive)

• Holst and Co. Ltd (foundations and civil engineering work)

• Hunt and Moscrop Ltd (supercalenders)

• Hunter Penrose Littlejohn Ltd (winder)

• Mason Scott Thrissell Engineering Co. Ltd (cutter)

• Mather and Platt (pumps)

• Herbert Morris Ltd (cranes)

• Printing ad Paper Drives Ltd (winder and cutter drives)

• Reiss Engineering Co. Ltd (Dryer steam system)

• H.H. Robertson (U.K.) Ltd (building cladding)

• James Scott and Co. (Electrical Engineers) Ltd (electrical installation)

• Stewarts and Lloyd Limited (steam mains)

• R. Terras Jun. Ltd (foundations, brickwork, concrete work)

• Vaughn Crane Co. Ltd (cranes)

• Vickerys Ltd (stock cleaners, felt cleaners)

• Voith Engineering Ltd (stock preparation equipment flow boxes)

• Walmsleys (Bury) Ltd (dry part, machine calender, reel)

• West End Engine Works (Edinburgh) Ltd (roll handling system).

Machine Clothing

• United Wire Works Ltd (machine wires)

• Thomas Aitken and Sons Ltd (dry felts)

• Thomas Hardman and Sons Ltd (wet felts)

• James Kenyon and Son Ltd (wet felt)

• Porritts and Spencer Ltd (wet felts and dri-wires)

• Scapa Dryers Ltd (dry felts)

• R.R. Whitehead and Bros Ltd (dry felts)

Tullis Russell Ltd (1969)

NO 27751 01702 A photographic and written historic building survey of the upstanding buildings within the former paper factory was carried out 20 – 21 November 2017. The factory, which ceased operations in 2015, consists largely of a collection of mid- to late 20th-century industrial buildings, offices and a biomass plant. However, there are some earlier elements, most notably the main mill lade which runs through the site and its associated sluice gates and operational machinery. In addition, there appear to be some elements of earlier buildings to the N side of one of the larger machine plant buildings; although a brief inspection of the interior suggested minimal survivals, with a few walls and windows (blocked) which were possibly 19th-century in date.

Rothes House, a listed building, is also located within the development area. The building is an early to mid-late 19th-century country house with some interesting and fine architectural detail, although its setting has been severely compromised by its proximity of the biomass plant.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Advance Construction

Diana Sproat – AOC Archaeology Group

(Source: DES Vol 19)

OASIS ID: aocarcha1-309030